Bad Luck Charm
by Astral Fire-Bird
Summary: Even though they promised - friends forever and ever, he was always their bad luck charm. AU, one-shot (warnings for some minor gore)


**T for some quite bloody scenes. No guts spewing everywhere, though, rest assured :)**

* * *

"Hey, Gray! Wait up!"

The raven-haired boy turned, eyebrows raised, to look at a very red-faced Lucy Heartfilia charging toward him. Huffing and puffing, she skidded to a stop next to him, panting as she wiped her forehead. Gray smirked. "You should lose some weight, Lucy."

It was there on that day that he learned to never talk to a girl about their body mass. Still rubbing his swollen cheek several minutes later, Gray sat with Lucy by classroom twenty-three to wait for Erza. She could be quite scary sometimes, nearly giving Gray brain damage when she'd thrown him off the school building for stepping on her cake. Oh, how much Erza loved her strawberry cake.

It was unusual, though, for the school council vice president to stay after class. Erza had not told either Gray or Lucy that she would have something planned. Gray was just about to ask Lucy if they should leave when a certain pinkette ran up to them, scowling.

"Hey, I was waiting at the exit for you guys for a loooong time! What're you doing? Where's Erza? Why're you just sitting there? What -"

"Oh, shut up, you flame brain." Gray leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head. "You're so annoying. You can never close your mouth for just a minute."

Natsu's eyes narrowed and his scowl deepened as his smashed his forehead against Gray's. "What'd ya say, stripper (Gray quickly checked for his clothes)?"

"You heard me, ba -"

"Miss Mirajane!" Lucy suddenly exclaimed, standing up as the white-haired woman exited the classroom. Her big blue eyes blinked at them curiously, and her hand, which was carrying a crumpled newspaper, shook.

"What're you doing here?" The teacher asked, surprise etched in her voice.

"We're waiting for Erza. Have you seen her around?" Lucy asked, wringing her hands nervously.

Mirajane suddenly burst into tears. Lucy rushed forward and patted her back comfortingly. "What's wrong?"

The woman cried even harder, shoved a newspaper into Lucy's hands, and dashed off, high heels clicking loudly, echoing in the empty hall. The three friends sat there, unsure about how to react. The blonde girl lifted the paper and began to read silently.

Her jaw dropped suddenly, and she covered her mouth, eyes scrunching up, showing that she was holding back tears. Natsu jumped up, worried, and leaned over to read the paper too. Gray shoved him out of the way and squinted at the tiny black print.

"...victim was confirmed as Erza Scarlet, age seventeen. Signs at the scene showed a violent struggle, and the victim was found with knives lodged in her stomach and neck. With this case, it would make the second one, the first occurring on the outskirts of Magnolia. Still have your appetite? Turn to page 2A for fresh…"

Gray stood there, numb, as Lucy cried quietly. There was no picture, but Gray could see it very clearly in his mind's eye. Natsu was still staring at the newspaper with a confused expression.

"I can't believe...how…" Lucy sobbed even harder, and she covered her face, letting the newspaper drop to the floor with a quiet rustle. The same questions were running through Gray's head. Why? How? When? What?

As Natsu's eyes widened in disbelief as he finished reading the article, Gray turned to the painted walls of Fairy Tail High School and let his tears slip out.

Erza Scarlet was dead.

* * *

"Oi, flame brain, you coming?"

"One sec." Natsu sighed as he stuffed his twisted binder into his pack and slung it over his shoulder. "Okay. Let's go."

Gray was a little upset upon hearing how distant and unfocused he sounded. Sure, Erza's death had taken a great toll on everyone, but Natsu seemed very unhappy most of the time.

They walked down the street in silence, when Gray asked, "Where's Lucy?"

"Sick." Was the simple, tired answer. Gray glanced at the boy then looked away, focusing on the cracked road.

When Natsu reached his house, he muttered a quick "bye" and trotted off, leaving Gray alone in the middle of the street, staring after the boy.

* * *

"The exponential number is a very important…"

Gray could feel his eyelids drooping shut, and so he pinched himself very hard on the arm, wincing slightly.

"Mr. Fullbuster, problem seven, if you would, please…" Freed, their teacher, extended a hand out to Gray, and the raven-haired boy took the stubby piece of chalk and walked up to the blackboard. The class was unnaturally silent, waiting as Gray wrote out the question. The scritching and scratching of the stub hurt his ears, and he was glad when he finally wrote the last variable and turned to return to his seat.

Natsu was staring up at the board, a very unfocused and blank mask on his face. He didn't even flinch when Gray passed him, and the boy frowned.

When the bell finally rang, everyone stood up and trudged out as one. Gray waited for Natsu, who was still packing up, and followed him to their next class.

"Where's Lucy? Oi, slow down, Tabasco-sauce freak!" Gray grumbled, grabbing hold of Natsu's tie. The pinkette glanced at Gray, then hurried on. "She's still sick. There's nothing to worry about."

Gray left him there. If he didn't go the other way, he would never make it to his class. He stared after the disappearing figure of his rival.

And friend. But Gray wouldn't say that.

* * *

It was only until they were halfway to Gray's house when he suddenly jumped. "Shit, I forgot my damn bag!" Cursing, he wheeled around to head back to the school, then realized that Natsu was not following him. Gray raised his eyebrows at the other boy. "Are you coming?"

"No." Natsu dropped his bag on the ground and leaned casually against the nearest building, near a small alleyway. "I'm not going all the way back there."

Gray let out his breath in a hiss. His very important essay was in that bag, and he was not about to fail school because of a certain pink-haired idiot! "I'm going. Don't move." Gray turned back to Natsu one last time before leaving. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Don't treat me like some helpless little damsel in distress," was his answer. The raven-haired boy sighed and ran off.

It was when he grabbed his bag from the empty classroom that a sudden wave of horror and fear washed over Gray. He wasn't sure why, just that the feeling was overwhelming. Quickly running from the school, he trotted back, panting, unable to sprint any farther.

Natsu was still by the brick wall, now pressing his back against the wall, hands gripping something that looked like a baseball bat. Heart pounding, Gray ran forward. Had there been an attack? Was that why Natsu looked so defenseful?

What he saw made him recoil and vomit onto the coal-black road. The sight would be forever burned in his memories like the marring scars on skin of an accident.

Natsu was speared through his stomach with a metal rod. it drove through the brick wall behind him, and blood, though nearly the same shade as the red brick, seemed to darken with every second, splattered like paint behind the boy. Crimson liquid ran down his hands and clothes like tears.

His pale green eyes were wide open with shock, vacant and lifeless as they stared without seeing at the rod. Red blood stood out clearly amongst the rosy locks of hair. Natsu's mouth was in a little "o" of surprise - he clearly didn't even have the time to look frightened before he died.

Natsu was dead. That was a fact hard to believe - and Gray found himself running and running away, tears leaving hot streaks down his cheeks. He didn't even know why he was crying - he didn't even feel sad - but all he knew was that for the nightmare to end, he would have to run.

On and on and on.

* * *

The day of Lucy Heartfilia's funeral was sunny.

Birds sang out mockingly in the trees - their sound was sweet, but Gray heard, "Look at you! Alive and well as your friends die one by one!"

Gray didn't know why things had been like that. Levy, Jet, Droy, even Gajeel...they all dead, impaled and bloody when their bodies were found.

Lucy had died from an abnormally high fever. What were the chances of that?

Somehow, as Gray waited by the cold, gray stone, he knew that he would live.

Why? His friends had told him one day…

* * *

_"__Oi, droopy-eyes!"_

_"__Whaddya want, squinty-eyed bastard?"_

_"__Enough, both of you!" Erza slammed her fists down on the quarreling boys' heads, and they immediately righted themselves, becoming "best friends" as Lucy sweatdropped, but she giggled anyway._

_"__I've an important speech to make! Speech, speech! It'll be my first speech!" Erza's eyes lit up like stars as she pulled out a paper and faced the other three people in the room. Lucy laughed awkwardly, and Gray was getting annoyed. Squeezing his grip around the pinkette's neck, he smirked as the boy choked, flailing like a dying fish. _

_"__...and we shall support each other to the end of our days, and accomplish our goals!" Erza declared as she finished her speech. Gray let go of Natsu, who toppled onto the floor, and clapped._

_"__Friends forever!"_

* * *

No tears sprung into his eyes. Instead, Gray scratched his cheek thoughtfully.

Support? Help? Friends? That didn't exist anymore in his world. Because it always seemed…

Gray stood up and began to walk away, leaving the bundle of white roses behind, raven hair dancing with the autumn breeze. A tiny smirk crept onto his face.

...he was always their bad luck charm.

* * *

**I felt like such a rebel after writing this. Dunno why. Hope you enjoyed, drop a review or fave? :)**


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